HST 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Molly Maguires, Gilded Age, Piece Work
26 Jan 2018
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Document Summary
During the ga small family farms displaced by large scale farming. Americans pushed off land forced to move to city to find work. Most immigrants cant afford land so they move to cities and concentrate on industrial work. Before ga, goods produced by small workshops in small batches by skilled artisans or craftsmen who had significant control over work process. Mechanization shifts site of work to factory for mass production. Large batches of goods produced by semi/unskilled workers who using machines. Workers lose control and are constantly supervised by foremen. New theory of management: work is divided into semi-skilled and unskilled tasks where workers are closely monitored. Deskilling makes people interchangeable and very repetitive, boring. Managers hired to set pace of work, discipline work, determine pay. Taylorism produces tension between worker and manager over shop floor control. Garments precut in factory, contractors or middlemen have pieces sewn together in tenement homes of workers or sweatshops.
